The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Dennis Smith Jr. to a one-year contract in preparation for the 2025-26 regular season.
Smith will now rejoin the franchise that selected him ninth overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, where he spent the first one and a half seasons of his career before being traded to the New York Knicks during the 2018-19 season.
The 27-year-old guard has bounced around to multiple teams since being traded away from the Mavericks, as he has spent time as a member of the Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Portland Trailblazers, Charlotte Hornets, and, most recently, the Brooklyn Nets.
Although Smith’s most recent season does not stand out statistically, he has recently established himself as one of the more defensively gifted guards in the NBA.
Smith finished the 2023-24 season, his most recent stint in the NBA, averaging 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game despite playing an average of just 18.9 minutes per game.
Smith is now set to compete for a spot on the Mavericks’ roster during training camp, though nothing is guaranteed as Dallas is set to have one of the deepest rosters in the entire NBA.
At just the guard position, Smith will be competing for a roster spot against D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson, Max Christie, Ryan Nembhard, Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy, and Brandon Williams.
Realistically, the majority of these players have secure spots on the team, meaning Smith will have to compete at a high level to have a chance of making the official roster.
All these pieces on the roster are meant to complement the team’s strengths, which are the length and defensive abilities of the players in the frontcourt.
Dallas will rely heavily on the team’s forwards and centers this season, with Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, and Dereck Lively standing out as the most important players entering the regular season.
Notably, Dallas will be without Davis to begin the season as he continues to recover from eye surgery that he underwent this offseason, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Despite missing key players to begin the season, the Mavericks are still expected to be one of the top contenders in the Western Conference with a chance to claim the NBA Championship by the end of the year.